Back Then
by xxAnoni
Summary: She loved him once. She gave him a chance. He broke her trust. All he had to do was be normal. It's not that much to ask. A oneshot, for Petunia. First fic, please R


**Disclaimer: If you know it, I don't own it.**

**Back Then**

"Have a good day at work, Vernon."

"I will Petunia dear. See you this evening."

Petunia smiled as her loving husband kissed her lightly on the cheek, and went out the door. She then proceded upstairs to wake the boys.

Her Dudders would be two soon. He was everything to Petunia, and she wanted nothing so much as to have him be happy no matter what. Ickle Dudley was his mummy's angel.

But he wasn't her whole world anymore. Just last fall there had been a new addition to their family. Her nephew Harry had come to live with them. Although Petunia's sister had been... an _awful_ person, Harry was a sweet little boy whom she'd come to love like a son. And it was good for Dudders to have a brother.

She stopped outside the boys' bedroom, and pushed the door open slowly, so that it wouldn't creak. The two cribs were parallel to each other, and each held a sleeping baby, one with untidy black hair, the other, blond. Petunia softly started to hum the simple tune she hummed every morning, as teh boys slowly woke.

Harry sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Dudley yawned loudly and stretched. Petunia smiled at her boys as she finnished humming, and bent down to pick up Harry with one arm. When she turned to get Dudley with the other arm, he already had his arms up high in a pick-me-up gesture.

"Breakfast time!" she announced as she started down the stairs. The boys giggled happily.

When they were both settled into highchairs, Petunia poured two bowls of cerial. Harry ate his slowly, but Dudley was soon finnished, and banging his bowl on the trey for seconds. Her boy had quite an appetite.

After breakfast she put the bowls in the sink, and set the boys on teh floor, where they immidiately ran into teh sitting room. Petunia followed, and on the way picked up a heavy beige book, as was customary after breakfast.

She sat between the boys on the sofa, and they each scooted closer to her. She flipped to a random page, went to the beginning of that story, and began to read.

This was a very old book, and it was very special to Petunia. When she was a little girl, her mother would read one of the old fairy tales to her and Lily every evening. The book also had a certain scent to it, unlike anything else in the world. It never left the pages, no matter how old the book got. It was the greatest smell in the world, and it seemed to bring back all of Petunia's favorite childhood memories. She loved this book.

Today's story was about a red hen who baked a loaf of bread, and nobody helped her make it so she ate it all herself. Dudley's mouth watered when she described how delicious the bread was.

After story time, Petunia turned on the television, and left the boys to watch cartoons while she went out to check the mail.

There were a few bills, and a new magazine, but nothing more interesting than that. She set the bills on a side table to deal with later, and immersed herseld in what was new in the gossip column.

**XXX**

She looked up from teh magazine at the sound of crying. Harry and Dudley had apparently gotten into a small fight over who-knows-what, and Dudley had ended up pulling Harry's hair. The poor baby was clutching his head and bawling. Petunia bent to pick him up to comfort him.

But before she could even reach him, however, she heard glass break, and the television went silent. She spun around, forgetting to pick up Harry, and looked at the large crack in the screen.

For a moment she forgot to breath, and it felt like her heart was caught in her throat. This was what they had feared, what she had denied would ever happen. Her mouth wide, she left teh children where they were, and fled the room. She needed to call Vernon.

**XXX**

"I just don't know what to do!" she half sobbed.

"It's that damn book Petunia! You shouldn't be reading it to them at all, it's giving that boy crazy ideas, just like what happened to your sister!"

"But Vernon, he's been so _normal_, he hasn't acted like one of their kind, he's been good. I never expected something like this to happen!"

"Well, obviously, it did. If he's going to become one of those freaks he's out of the house tonight. We can't keep one of _them_ in a normal home like ours."

"Vernon, no! Please, we have to give him another chance! Maybe it was a one-time thing, and it'll never hapen again. I'll stop storytime, even, maybe he'll be normal if I stop storytime. Please, Vernon, just one more chance. We can't get rid of him just yet."

"...Alright. One more chance. But he still needs to be punnished. He can't go thinking that sort of behavior is acceptable. He needs to understand that, or he leaves."

"I agree absolutely. Is there a punnishment you would suggest?"

"What's something he hates?

"Give me a minute... he cry's when the nightlight goes out, I think he fears the dark."

"That's perfect. What if you left him somewhere dark for a while?"

"Vernon, that's a little cruel, don't you think? He's not even two!"

"We need to show him that freak beahavior is not tollerated! He needs to fear breaking the rules, Petunia, and know that we won't put up with any abnormalities! If it's the only way to teach him, then we don't have a choice."

"Still, I don't--"

"I will not have one in the house Petunia! If you allow him to behave that way, he leaves, understood?"

"Alright Vernon. You're right."

**XXX**

The first time Petunia had to leave Harry in that cupboard overnight, for his own good, she felt her heart break. She wept more that night than he did himself.

But she slowly learned to harden her heart, and it got easier with time.

**5 YEARS LATER**

A little boy with untidy black hair, bright green eyes behind a brand new pair of glasses, and a lightning bolt shaped scar, sat crying in a dark cupboard. He was silent except for the occasional sniffle, and could still feel the slap smarting against his cheek. As he rocked himself back and fourth, he reached behind his small cot and pulled out a thick book of fairy tales he had found collecting dust in a closet. He flipped it open and smelled the pages. This smell was like nothing he'd ever smelled before, yet it was strangely familiar, and it made him feel calm. As he closed it he began to hum through his tears, a simple tune he'd always known. He drifted slowly off to sleep with only one thought in his mind.

_At least she loved me once._

**A/N: My first fic, please review. I know it's not that good, but it's a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. Please see my profile if you get the chance.**


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